Dealer Mark Weiss Defends His Frans Hals

Mark Weiss, the old masters dealer who sold the Frans Hals paintings Sotheby’s now says is a forgery, has provided the Antiques Trade Gazette with a statement disputing the claims against his business and Fairlight Art Ventures made by Sotheby’s:

The statement said Weiss and “highly respected scientific conservators” believe further testing should be carried out “before the assertion that this work is a modern fake can be definitively made.”

The statement said Sotheby’s has “repeatedly refused to allow Weiss’s experts access to the painting to carry out the further tests.”